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Title X is a federal funding program that provides family planning services and education to low-income Americans. Funds are distributed through grants to local service providers, including clinics, hospitals, and universities. Services include pregnancy tests, counseling, and contraceptive products, as well as gynecological exams and STD screenings. The program is targeted at low- and middle-income Americans, with services offered for free or at reduced prices based on income levels. The use of federal funds for abortion services is prohibited by law.
A 1970 amendment to the United States Public Health Service Act of 1944, Title X Population Research and Voluntary Family Planning Programs comprises the only federal funding vehicle dedicated to establishing family planning practices and ancillary services. The program’s purpose is to provide priority assistance to low-income Americans who otherwise cannot afford contraceptive items, family planning information, and health education. Among the general objectives of Title X grants are to achieve improved child health, reduce teenage pregnancies, decrease the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, and reduce accidental pregnancies.
Funds allocated through this statutory program are distributed through grants made to community clinics, hospitals, university health services, and other local service providers. These structures then offer services to suitable recipients at reduced prices or at no cost. Specific assistance provided under Title X includes pregnancy tests, natural family planning counseling, and contraceptive products. It also involves spaying procedures, gynecological exams, and screening for STDs and other related health conditions. The use of federal funds specifically to provide abortion services, whether through Title X or otherwise, is prohibited by law.
This portion of the Public Health Service Act directs its funding to community-based health care providers in each of the 50 states and more than 70 percent of the nation’s counties contain at least one Title X beneficiary clinic. There are more than 4,000 providers in all the United States, including those under the auspices of state and local health departments, independent clinics, tribal governments, non-profit groups, and educational institutions. Ten regional public health offices serve as conduits for all Title X funds and award grants for services and training to provider organizations on a competitive basis. Each region has a health care administrator responsible for the broad oversight and overall administration of Title X-funded initiatives. Regional program advisers provide an additional level of administrative service and oversight responsibility within each region.
The services made possible by these funds are targeted primarily at low- and middle-income Americans. Most people who seek assistance through law-funded service providers earn incomes below 150 percent of the federal poverty line. Most of these people have no health insurance coverage and are not eligible for Medicaid. Health care services offered under Title X programs are offered free to individuals whose income levels are below 100 percent of the federal poverty line, and services are based on a variable rate plan for anyone earning less than 250 percent income of the poverty line. Proponents of these federal programs often emphasize the cost savings that are obtainable due to increased family planning education and awareness, which can help prevent unwanted pregnancies.
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